The relevant field of this invention is X-ray films in the form of 100 mm sheets of individual films. In the optical system the X-ray image is formed on the anode screen of an X-ray image intensifier. A special camera is mounted on the image intensifier and is integrated electrically in the X-ray circuit at its feed unit.
The camera registers the output phosphor of the X-ray image intensifier on 100.times.100 mm. sheets of ordinary film. The 100 mm. sheet film camera overcomes the disadvantages attaching to conventional large-size exposure techniques. It combines a significant reduction in handling operations. The use of 100 mm. sheet film, over roll film, means that any number of exposures can be made readily available for processing and diagnostic viewing.
The use of 100 mm. sheet film also opens up the opportunity for introducing labor saving techniques covering all of the steps in handling X-ray films, i.e., exposure, processing, viewing, copying, framing and filing.
For exposure, a removable supply magazine, which can hold up to 150 individual film sheets, facilitates daylight loading of the camera. And, prior to processing, a removable take up magazine that can hold up to 100 film sheets, 100 mm. in size, facilitates daylight unloading of the camera. This system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,627,307, which issued on Dec. 14, 1971. Until now, however, a gap has existed in the continum of automatic, daylight film handling. Until the present invention, it has been necessary to unload the exposed films from the take up magazine and load them by hand into the film processor under dark room conditions.